Hot Warning Signs: After the Show

Dr. Phil examines hot warning signs that say your child is in crisis.

After the show, Dr. Phil speaks with the audience. One man asks, "How did you manage to survive all those experiences as a young man growing up?"

"The saving grace for me is I had to find something that I was really excited about, and fortunately for me, I was a pretty good athlete, and so I got into sports. It was a place to vent a lot of anger and frustration. My dad was a terrible alcoholic and I had all kinds of problems with that. I didn't get along with him when he was drinking, which was a lot. It would get very violent. I got into athletics and it gave me an outlet, and it gave me an identity," Dr. Phil says. It also required him to keep his grades up.

"Kids have to have an identity. Whether it's art, dance, sports, something that they take pride in and it's who they are," Dr. Phil explains. His son Jordan is good at music, but when he was playing the piano he hated it. So then he tried guitar and he loves it and is really good at it.

"You've got to find that thing they love and then all of a sudden they're channeled. Then you're catching them doing things right and you're supporting them instead of criticizing things they do wrong," Dr. Phil explains to the parents.

Yvette questions how Archie can get a less desirable job closer to home when they have bills to pay.

 

"Understand, I mean this to the point that if you have to move into a smaller house, drive older cars, and give up stuff where you live with less money and less things, but it means you can come present in your family, then that is everything," Dr. Phil says. "As much as I hated my dad's drinking and the things that he did badly, when he took me to Kansas City, it was real evident to me that it would have been a lot easier for him to go alone ... I tell you as sure as I'm standing here today, I would not be here if he had not done that ... You have to do what you have to do, and it takes courage to do it," he reminds them.